Richard Michael Cockayne Frith (born 8 April 1949) is a British retired

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

who served as Bishop of Hull and Bishop of Hereford.

Early life

Frith was born into a clerical family on 8 April 1949; his father was Roger Cokayne Frith, sometime

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

and

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Feltwell. He was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He undertook training for ministry at St John's College, Nottingham.

Ordained ministry

Frith was made a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in many Western Christian liturgical calendars on 29 Se ...

1974 (6 October) and

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

the Michaelmas following (28 September 1975), both times by Mervyn Stockwood, Bishop of Southwark, at Southwark Cathedral. He began his ordained ministry as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

Mortlake Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes, London, Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes ...

, after which he was

Thamesmead Thamesmead () is an area of south-east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross, north-east of Woolwich and west of Erith. It mainly c ...

. Following this he was Rector of

Keynsham Keynsham ( ) is a town and civil parish located on the outskirts of the city of Bristol on the A4 that links the cities of Bristol and Bath, Somerset, Bath in Somerset, England. It had a population of 19,603 at the 2021 Census. It was listed i ...

. Finally, before his ordination to the episcopate, he was the

Archdeacon of Taunton The Archdeacon of Taunton has been, since the twelfth century, the senior ecclesiastical officer in charge of the archdeaconry of Taunton in the Diocese of Bath and Wells (in the Church of England). The archdeaconry includes List of ecclesiastical ...

from 1992.Diocese of York — Rt Revd Richard Frith
/ref> Frith is also a trustee of maritime welfare charity the Mission to Seafarers.

Episcopal ministry

In January 1999, Frith became suffragan Bishop of Hull. On 16 July 2014, it was announced that Frith was to become the next Bishop of Hereford. His canonical election was confirmed on 17 October 2014Hereford Cathedral – Bishop Richard Frith elected as 105th bishop of Hereford
(Accessed 27 September 2014) and he was installed 22 November 2014 in Hereford Cathedral. His retirement has been announced, effective 30 November 2019.

Views

Frith is a supporter of introducing a blessing service to follow a civil

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

civil partnership A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage, with ch ...

Personal life

Frith was married first to Jill Richardson from 1975 until 2000, having four children, and remarried in 2006. His son, James, is the Labour MP for Bury North.

Styles

*''

The Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

'' Richard Frith (1974–1992) *''

The Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

'' Richard Frith (1992–1998) *''

The Right Reverend The Right Reverend (abbreviated as The Rt Revd or The Rt Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian ministers and members of clergy. It is a variant of the more common st ...

'' Richard Frith (1998–present)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frith, Richard Michael Cokayne 1949 births People educated at Marlborough College Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Alumni of St John's College, Nottingham Archdeacons of Taunton 20th-century Church of England bishops 21st-century Church of England bishops Bishops of Hull Living people